


Ce Joyeux Noël

by tauri



Category: Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Gen, Pokevillains Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-01-01
Packaged: 2018-05-10 23:29:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5604958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tauri/pseuds/tauri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Augustine is arranging Christmas events at the Sycamore Research Laboratory; Lysandre isn't enthusiastic about being involved, but finds it hard to refuse when Augustine is the one asking.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ce Joyeux Noël

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2015 Pokevillains Santa exchange! I'm sorry it's a bit late, and I hope you like it!

To Lysandre, the general passage of time was less important than the research and results that could be produced from it. If data from a project needed three days to calculate, then he would keep track of that. The concept of knowledge and progression was one he understood; if this part of a project needed a month, then they could start the next part during the month that followed. He kept those times and dates in mind, knowing that it was his part in the overall organisation to be, ultimately, on top of such things.

More oblique milestones, however, fell into that realm of being less important; as such, Lysandre rarely afforded them the grace of his attention. Seasons came and went, but it was of no particular importance to him as to if it was summer or autumn at any particular time. He was sure that there were many yearly markers that the people of Kalos celebrated, but he thought little of them. _If that is how they wish to spend their time, then that's their business_. It could be profitable to stock seasonal items at Lysandre Café, or to push out an update on the Holo Caster at a time to take advantage of when people were most likely to be using it, but beyond that, Lysandre felt no need to pay attention to such things. The only way he ever found his attention drawn to them was, usually, when Augustine had something to say about them. Whatever the occasion, Lysandre would find himself with a number of messages urging him to get involved, or high-energy visits at the café to remind him of... whatever it was that was coming up, whatever it was Augustine wanted him to do.

For the most part, Lysandre didn't mind. He couldn't be as enthusiastic as Augustine, but as a general rule, he wasn't against doing whatever was suggested to him. Social events served to raise his brand profile, and the more personal events could be enjoyable in their own way. He wouldn't go out of his way to remember such things, but he allowed Augustine to remind him; in turn, Augustine seemed quite happy to come by with these reminders, and felt no remorse at dragging Lysandre into whatever was happening at the time.

Part of Augustine's job at the research laboratory was to raise new Pokémon for certain purposes - most often, the hatching of eggs to produce Pokémon given to new trainers at the start of their Pokémon journey. As far as Lysandre had paid attention, there was a kind of yearly schedule for this - the process of raising Pokémon that were of appropriate natures and temperaments to accompany new (and possibly nervous) trainers took time, and Augustine made sure to keep a close eye on things at each step of the way. Sometimes, clutches of Pokémon eggs would come to the laboratory from other sources, for other purposes. Much as Lysandre had his own research, he knew that Augustine had his own projects to work on; he listened when Augustine wanted to talk about them, but he didn't press him too hard for information otherwise.

As it happened, the laboratory had taken custody of a number of Litleo eggs, which had since hatched into healthy young Pokémon. Despite himself, Lysandre hadn't quite been able to stop himself from visiting every once in a while, going to the laboratory when he had nothing else to do, just to see how the Pokémon were getting on. Lysandre hadn't meant to make his actions so obvious, but Augustine could be quite perceptive when he wanted to be. After the third or fourth visit, Augustine hadn't been able to hide a smile. " _Someone's got a favourite Pokémon, hmm?_ "

If asked, Lysandre would have staunchly denied that he would ever have such a thing, but there _was_ part of him that found the Litleo species quite charming. Watching the tiny creatures, knowing that each one of those wide-eyed and clumsy little Pokémon had the full potential to grow into a proud and noble Pyroar... there was something very pleasing about the natural order of things, and Lysandre would often leave the laboratory with a healthy appreciation for that lofty concept. There was no harm in paying social visits to the laboratory, and Lysandre knew that it also made Augustine happy to not have to make the first move _all_ the time - and so there was no harm, he felt, in taking those excursions. The first sign of trouble came during the winter, with a message - as always - from Augustine.

" _Lysandre! I was wondering if you'd be able to help me with something. As I'm sure you're aware, it's Christmas coming up! Do you celebrate Christmas? I know not everybody does, but the laboratory is working alongside the city Pokémon Centers to hold some seasonal events across the winter! If it's Christmas or if it's something else, I'm sure we're probably doing something for it. Doesn't that sound like fun? I know you're often busy, but it doesn't hurt to take a break every once in a while!_ "

As usual, the first message had been frustratingly vague. Not long after that, Lysandre received a parcel addressed to him at the café; he recognised Augustine's handwriting on the label and so had taken it back to his office with some curiosity. That curiosity had turned to the heavy feeling of _obligation_ once the package was opened. _Ah, so that's what you had in mind_.

 

\----

 

On the specified date, Lysandre made his way to the Sycamore Research Laboratory. Augustine's brand of frivolity made this harder than usual; the package had contained what seemed to be some kind of combined outfit - from his observations of the fashion trends of Kalos, Lysandre knew that these onesie jumpsuit _things_ seemed to be quite popular, especially with the younger demographic. Despite that, the outfit came - or had been made? - precisely to his own measurements, which seemed like quite the achievement in itself. Lysandre had to admit respect to Augustine for _that_. The _rest_ , however...

Formed from a soft and fleece-like material, Lysandre supposed one could also call the outfit well-crafted. Were one to be looking out for a comfortable outfit to relax around the home in, perhaps sleep in, such a garment had the potential to fit the bill nicely. It wasn't the sort of thing that Lysandre _ever_ wanted to be caught wearing _ever_ , but he couldn't deny the superior tailored nature of the outfit. Nothing was wrong, inherently, with the suit itself. Problems arose quickly once Augustine's _purpose_ for the suit was realised; it was mostly red, which Lysandre appreciated, but with the tell-tale adornments of _Christmas_. Or, to be more specific, of _Santa_. The snow-like trim of the cuffs matched the brim of the 'hat', formed by way of the onesie hood; it didn't come with a real belt, but the likeness of one had been designed into the waist. If one had the undying desire to dress up as Santa, then the suit provided a quick and accurate way in which to do so; only if, of course, they _wanted_ to. On considering the situation, Lysandre could think of little that he wanted _less_ , but by that point, it felt too late. Augustine had already laid out his plans, had explained the manner of the collaboration between the laboratory and the Pokémon Centers of Lumiose... he'd managed to get straight to Lysandre's weak point, taking specific note of just how good it would look to others for the CEO of Lysandre Labs to make a show of appearing during the event, to take part, to try to make it special for the Kalos children the event was aimed towards. Generally, Lysandre couldn't fault it. _Specifically_ , he deeply wished that Augustine could think up schemes to get him involved that _didn't_ involve having to wear garish seasonal clothing, that didn't involve having _to be seen by other people_ wearing such things, that didn't have to be so _social_... he couldn't deny that the children would probably be excited to see a Santa figure, but was that really an appropriate value to instil within them...? Hanging dreams and wishes on make-believe and fantasy. _A fantasy that you've been roped into perpetuating_. Lysandre sighed and tugged the hem of the hood down to cover his face, trying to make his way to the laboratory without being seen. It was early enough in the morning - and late enough in the season - that Lumiose was comparatively quiet, but there were still enough people around that Lysandre kept to side-routes and back alleyways just to be safe. _Will the press be at the laboratory? Will this be filmed?_ Each thought slowed Lysandre's step. On one hand, Team Flare had connections in the media enough to suppress anything if Lysandre wished it to be so. On the other, he was absolutely sure that there was _no way whatsoever_ that Malva would let him forget this...

Having managed to largely avoid the presence of other people, Lysandre eventually reached his destination. The front door was open to visitors, and as it happened, Augustine had been in the main hallway talking with some of his assistants. On hearing the front door open, he looked up - his expression brightened considerably on seeing Lysandre. _Is that worth wearing this?_ Lysandre weighed that thought up in his mind as he approached Augustine, trying not to make his smile seem _too_ forced.

"Good morning, Augustine. I trust you're well?"

"All the better for seeing you, my friend!" Augustine took a step back, forming a rectangle with the thumb and forefinger of his two hands to frame his view of Lysandre. "Very nice! I knew that outfit would suit you, but there's nothing like seeing it modelled in person!"

The fact that Augustine was still wearing his usual lab coat made Lysandre narrow his eyes slightly. "You haven't dressed for the occasion...?"

Augustine clapped him on the shoulder in a good-natured fashion. "Oh, come now, Lysandre...! There's only one Father Christmas. Wouldn't it be confusing if we were both going around dressed like that? Besides, I don't really have the stature for it. You're so tall, you have such a commanding presence, you're so... so _red_...! I'm sure the children will be delighted."

"Do you think that there'll be a... press presence?"

That question only caused a smile and a casual wave of the hand from Augustine. "Oh, probably. They've been keeping up with us all week. But won't it be wonderful for everyone to see what a perfect Santa you make?! I want to show you off to everybody--! Still, we've got some time yet before any of the children are likely to get here. Ah, yes, I didn't really brief you on today, did I...? I mean, it's very simple. We've got some small gifts to hand out to our visitors, and they'll come and sit on your knee and tell you what they want for Christmas. You've just got to smile and listen to them, really. I'm sure some of the parents will want photos, but that's no big deal." (Lysandre wasn't sure he could think of much worse at that moment in time, but said nothing.) "Anyway, while we have this time to ourselves, would you like some mulled wi--... well, it's not exactly mulled _wine_. We're at work, after all! It's definitely mulled, though. It's still delicious! We worked together to come up with it, so it's our own recipe! Perhaps you could offer it at the café? Something to think of for next year's menu...!" As he spoke, Augustine led Lysandre through the lobby to one of the side rooms of the laboratory. Lysandre noticed the aroma of the mulled concoction as they went, and had to agree that it smelt quite inviting; something about the citrus-clove scent felt undeniably festive, even to his dulled seasonal senses. As they came through to the other room, one of the assistants was on hand to pass both Lysandre and Augustine a steaming glass of the drink. Lysandre tried it, as a matter of courtesy. _Quite pleasant_.

"You've certainly made an effort."

"Yes, well. It's fun to have something to celebrate, isn't it? Even if people are rather low-key in their celebrations otherwise, they're still free to come here for some festive cheer!" Augustine smiled at his own rhyme. "It was really a plan from the Pokémon Centres, but they asked if we wanted to get involved, and I thought it sounded rather wonderful, so... here we are! We're going to have some Pokémon out for the children to look at - we thought we'd turn it into a sort of educational thing as well, just slightly. We have some friendly Delibirds in, and we have some Cryogonal... they're a little hard to find, so I'm happy we were able to bring them in! We can show them to the children, and give them a few tips on the care of ice Pokémon, that sort of thing. It shouldn't take up too much of your time. Although, if you're willing to stick around until 'closing time', I'm sure we could pull out some of the _actual_ mulled wine to enjoy..."

As far as Lysandre was concerned, the day was a write-off to begin with. If he was going to be staying at the laboratory for this largely pointless exercise, then why _not_ stick around to see it to its conclusion? He held back a sigh. "I'll certainly give it some consideration."

Augustine nudged his arm, winking. "Of course you will. Oh, I just have to take care of something--. You'll be fine by yourself for a moment, won't you? Just some last-minute preparation I need to take care of, I wouldn't want to bore you with the details." He was already walking back towards the main lobby. "If you need anything, just ask someone. Everyone knows you around here! I'll be back shortly--!"

Lysandre nodded his agreement as Augustine left the room. He swirled the mulled juice around in his glass, taking another drink of the warm liquid. Were other cafés serving things like this? There was little point in going to the trouble of trying to produce something if it couldn't be _exclusive_. There certainly seemed to be the germ of an idea there, though; Lysandre took mental note to investigate the competition once these ridiculous festivities were out of the way.

Left to his own devices, Lysandre found himself idly considering the laboratory itself. As Augustine had said, his presence was quite familiar in the building. He knew the rooms and the hallways and what they held, he knew the laboratory employees by sight and some even by name. What topics of research lay at the top of the team agenda? Likely little, for the time being. Whatever priorities the research team held, they had almost certainly been knocked aside by the aims of _pleasing children_ and _festive celebration_. Lysandre wasn't entirely happy with the part where he'd been dragged forth to participate, but again, saw the importance of raising a profile. Making the laboratory a friendly and inviting place, passing knowledge on to the younger generation... from that angle, Lysandre could admit some sort of admiration.

The particular room that Augustine had left him in, Lysandre knew, led off to the back rooms where Pokémon were contained for their own safety. He found himself walking to the furthest corridor without really thinking about it; Augustine was the type who liked to have Pokémon running around underfoot at all times, but there were some cases in which that wasn't always practical. As such, the group of Litleo the laboratory was raising had been kept to themselves, given their own small territory to establish as a safe area before expanding their horizons to larger spaces and new people. Lysandre figured that, while Augustine was busy elsewhere, it wouldn't cause any disturbance for him to just check on them, while he was in the building. It hadn't been too long since his last visit, but Pokémon seemed to grow quickly when they were young, those first weeks providing the most rapid evidence of growth. He opened the door into the room where he knew the Litleo to be found, idly wondering to himself just what length of time it had been since he'd seen them last.

Lysandre was shaken from this thought by the unexpected sight of a Litleo - not in the enclosure with the others (who were indeed still present), but sat in the middle of the room. It seemed to have got hold of - maybe that was someone's scarf? Some length of material lay battered and chewed beneath its paws. Lysandre came to a halt as he closed the door behind him, momentarily unsure as to how to proceed; was that Litleo meant to be loose? That seemed unlikely, somehow. Had it escaped? Should it be returned to its brethren? The Litleo stared up at Lysandre, giving him a stare that was almost like a _challenge_. Small and cuddly though it seemed, Lysandre knew that you should never underestimate a Pokémon; Litleo were known for their pack behaviour, as well as the habits of the males of the species in asserting their dominance and leaving the group. These Litleo seemed too young for such behaviour, but that didn't mean that the natural instinct wasn't present. Clearly, this Litleo had found a thing that it liked, and was _guarding_ it. Lysandre took a step forward, and the Litleo leapt to its feet - not moving from the spot, but tensed and ready to pounce. Was it worth going back to the main area and alerting Augustine? He was probably still busy with preparing the Christmas event. Having a loose - and territorial - Litleo around in the presence of children didn't seem like the best idea in the world, but Lysandre felt reluctant to make more work for Augustine to deal with. It was only one Litleo, after all - surely he could deal with that?

Making his way around the edge of the room, Lysandre approached the clear walls of the pen in which the other Litleo were kept. They looked up at him with a sense of expectation; he turned his attention from them to the door of the pen, looking to see how this one Litleo had been able to free itself. Had it leapt the wall? That seemed unlikely, although perhaps not impossible... Lysandre crouched down and pressed one hand against the door, feeling it give slightly as he did so. Looking to the other side, it seemed as if there were a series of latches to keep the door steady - were they all affixed properly? Lysandre ran his fingers over them, testing them.

Without warning, the escaped Litleo let out some sort of yowl; Lysandre turned on hearing the sound, and found himself ambushed by the force of the other Litleo pressing against the unsteady door hinge. As a result, the door burst open and Lysandre fell backwards - he was able to steady himself on his hands, but at the expense of holding the door closed. The group of Litleo rushed by - and over - him, the other Pokémon clearly fascinated by whatever the cloth was that the first Litleo had managed to score itself. Lysandre remained leant on his hands, looking between the now-empty enclosure and the group of Litleo in the middle of the room, now occupying themselves by play-growling and batting at one another and, of course, showing absolutely no interest in making their way back into the pen. Standing up and dusting himself off, Lysandre folded his arms and sighed deeply.

"... This situation seems to have escalated, doesn't it?"

(The Litleo continued to pay no attention to Lysandre's plight.)

 

\----

 

"--... and later on, we'll--... ...?!"

Having taken care of most of the preparations - and finding Lysandre missing from where he'd left him - Augustine had set about looking for his friend. An educated guess told Augustine that Lysandre would be where the Litleo were, and it wasn't that he was _wrong_ about that, but he was still surprised by the sight he was presented with on walking into the enclosure room. He and the two assistants he'd been walking with stopped in their tracks, unable to do much else but stare.

"... Lysandre...?"

Lysandre had tried his best at various tactics to get the Litleo back into their pen, but had been, it seemed, largely unsuccessful. The Litleo themselves didn't seem perturbed in the slightest by their newfound freedom, still playfully scrapping with one another and using Lysandre as a setpiece for their activities. At the precise moment that Augustine had walked in, Lysandre had been on all fours, caught in the predicament of _trying_ to get the Litleo to behave and pinned by the weight of the two who seemed to be quite happily sat on his back, almost riding him like a child might take to a Ponyta. It wasn't that Lysandre _couldn't_ have stood up and shaken the Pokémon off, but there was that sense of concern in case such a sudden action might frighten them, or if they fell in an awkward way and hurt themselves... (and they were purring and kneading at his shoulders, and it was slightly uncomfortable, but who could disturb such content creatures?)

By the time that Augustine opened the door, Lysandre was already resigned to his fate. He looked up at Augustine and the assistants - _because of course he wouldn't have come here by himself. Of course he wouldn't. Why not invite all the children in here to see me like this?! He might as well._

"I believe the door to your Litleo enclosure needs fixing, Augustine."

Those words seemed to spur Augustine into action; he closed the door before any of the Litleo could notice that it had been opened, and went forth to aid Lysandre. "Gosh, you're right. Yes, we were just talking about that the other day, weren't we...? We were going to call someone out to see to it, but in the excitement of all the Christmas festivities, those plans were forgotten...! At least they didn't get too far." Augustine made as if to pick one of the Pokémon from Lysandre's back, but paused before doing so. "I wish I had a camera. What an adorable scene."

"Augustine, would you _please_ \--... this is quite undignified."

Taking one of the Litleo from Lysandre's back, Augustine couldn't help a chuckle. "Of course, of course." Supporting the Pokémon firmly, he took it over to the enclosure, where his assistants had deposited most of the other escaped Litleo. He double-checked the latch of the enclosure as he went, then returning to Lysandre to take the final Pokémon from his back. "It would make a wonderful Christmas card, though. Perhaps we could do that next year! Pictures of Pokémon and their trainers, dressed for Christmas, sent out as cards... I'll have to write that down so I don't forget it! _Hup_ \-- there we go." He lifted the final Litleo up, holding it as Lysandre was able to stand up.

"... Thank you." Lysandre brushed himself down, then turned to look at Augustine - and the Litleo. "Ah--... it looks like it's smiling at me."

"He probably is! Who says Pokémon can't smile? I'm sure he was very happy to ride such an excellent steed."

Lysandre gently held out his fingers, letting the Litleo bat at them. "They seem to be growing up healthy and strong."

"Well, we're taking good care of them! We'll have to make sure this door is shut to keep them in, though. Unless you want them with you later on?"

For a moment, Lysandre almost found himself seriously considering the offer. "... I'm sure today has been exciting enough for them already. Perhaps leave it a little while before inflicting the children of Kalos onto them." Sensing that the Litleo was comfortable with his presence, he stroked at its forehead with the back of his index and forefinger.

"You might be right. Maybe next year!" Augustine was already carrying the Pokémon back to its companions in the enclosure. Lysandre smiled and nodded in agreement, before realising.

"Wait--... next year? You're planning on doing all of this again!?"

"Why not? It's fun! Or maybe something different, I don't know. That's how you turn an event into a tradition, isn't it? By doing it over and over. And if it's only once a year then that isn't a _huge_ amount of time out of your schedule, is it?" Augustine made sure that the enclosure was tightly secured, one last time. "You don't have to agree, of course. I'd be happy if you did, though...!"

"... I'll think about it."

"Of course. There's a whole year inbetween for you to make up your mind! Anyway, I apologise for the Litleo - I should really have thought to fix that latch before now, it's my own fault."

"Oh, ah, n-no, it's... it wasn't a problem. They didn't cause any damage. It was my fault for looking in on them in the first place."

Augustine clapped his hands, then rubbed them together. "Well! I'm sure we could debate this for the rest of the afternoon, but if we do that, the mulled punch will all be gone! Let's go and get another glass, just in case..."

Lysandre cast one last look to the Litleo (who seemed to have settled quite amicably back into their enclosure) before following Augustine out of the room and back through to the laboratory lobby. Would entertaining the local children be more or less exhausting than being the plaything of a group of Litleo? He found it hard to decide. All the same, Augustine's enthusiasm was somehow infectious, and he couldn't help but think that _maybe_ it wouldn't be quite so bad as he'd thought it might. He couldn't make any promises as to what the next year would bring, but perhaps it wouldn't hurt to indicate possible participation to Augustine for the following year - if nothing else, Lysandre was sure that the thought would make him smile, and it was certainly worth it for that.


End file.
